Studying comedy

Ok, if I'm going to do this thing (Whatever it is. I still don't know) I'm going to have to incorporate some stand-up into it. I do need to have an act. I can't just get up there and sing songs. As a performer, one thing I NEVER had a desire to do is stand-up. I'm waaay too fragile. And chicken.

So, I'm now studying how to be a comedian. Flappers offers classes in improv and stand-up, and I would love to take them once I find out where this is going, but these classes are $300 a pop. I do think it would be helpful to take a class. I can be funny and I have written some funny songs, but how does one write jokes? I've been a smart-ass all my life, but I can tell you from personal experience that people don't always appreciate my sense of humor.

So, I'm going to immerse myself in the comedy world, at least as much as I can afford. Last night I went to Flappers Claremont for a Habitat for Humanity benefit show. There were four comics with Michael Rayner as the headliner. I guess I should be writing down the names of all these comics so I can remember them. I'm glad I went because the whole evening was very instructive.

The first three comics (two women and a guy) were uneven and only mildly funny. One woman joked about being red-headed and very white. You can only take that so far. The other woman, who was also the emcee, joked about dating and how creepy she is. Hmmm. Her jokes felt like she wrote them after goofing around with her friends and then writing down what they laughed at. They fell pretty flat. The third comic was a Middle Eastern guy who was a bit funnier. Still, he danced around the race thing, which seemed to make people uncomfortable (mostly older people in the audience). The race thing is tricky. The race thing is advanced.

The fourth opening comic was Jason Dudey, gay guy who really was quite funny. He talked about several subjects, and his point of view was skewed a bit sideways. His jokes were funnier.

I had seen Michael Rayner before, but I can't remember where. Anyway, look him up on Youtube. I'm having trouble posting a link here. He's a nerdy-looking juggler, and he's freaking hilarious. He opened by making a chicken out of a towel. Pretty silly trick. Then he got out an old-fashioned tennis racket and a couple of sticks. He got the racket up in the air and kept it there by knocking it between the sticks. It really looked like it was going to slip, but it never did. He balanced a wheelbarrow on his chin, and he spun a cheeseburger on a parasol. Everything he did had a loose and uncontrolled look to it, which made you think he wasn't going to be able to pull it off. I enjoyed that. He disguised his skill. The jokes were good and his delivery was loud and silly.

So, what can I do with this info? I don't need a lot of jokes, and they don't even need to be all that funny. They just can't fall flat. The jokes will serve as a transition between the songs. I've messed around with banter, but it was always just me goofing around with the audience. That's ok, and it works, but I think I need to step it up a little. I just need to figure out what will work for me.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy going to comedy shows. A lot of them.